Calif farmers idle crops, veggie prices may rise

Almond farmer Dusty Giacone points to a water well and pump that he installed last summer to aid in delivering water to his trees Friday, Jan. 23, 2009 in Mendota, Calif. Some of the nation's largest farms plan to cut back on planting crops this spring over concerns that the drought plaguing California will cause federal water supplies to dry up. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
— AP

Almond farmer Dusty Giacone points to a water well and pump that he installed last summer to aid in delivering water to his trees Friday, Jan. 23, 2009 in Mendota, Calif. Some of the nation's largest farms plan to cut back on planting crops this spring over concerns that the drought plaguing California will cause federal water supplies to dry up. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
/ AP

The state Department of Water Resources, which also ships farmers water, has promised to deliver 15 percent of the normal allocations in October, but conditions are so dire that that's now in doubt, too.

"The consequences are expected to be pretty horrible in terms of farmers' revenue, but what's really disconcerting are the possible job losses," said Wendy Martin, who leads the agency's drought division. "Those communities that can least weather an economic downturn are going to be some of the places that are hit the hardest."

Richard Howitt, a professor of agriculture economics at the University of California, Davis, estimates that $1.6 billion in agriculture-related wages, and as many as 60,000 jobs across the valley will be lost in the coming months due to dwindling water.

Analysts haven't yet provided any estimates of crop losses this year. But Bill Diedrich, an almond grower on the valley's parched western edge, said he's already worried he may lose some of his nut trees in the drought.

"The real story here is food security," Diedrich told Milligan and other officials speaking at a conference in Reno, Nev. "It's an absolute emergency and anything to get water flowing quickly is needed."

In the meantime, the forecast appears to be worsening: Meteorologists are predicting a dry spring, and a new state survey shows the population of threatened fish is at its lowest point in 42 years, more imperiled than previously believed.

"This has devastating effects not only for the guys out there in the fields with the weed whackers, but it affects the whole farming industry," said Thomas Nyberg, Fresno County's deputy agricultural commissioner. "I'm just praying for rain."

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Associated Press writer Martin Griffith in Reno, Nev. also contributed to this report.